Category Archives: Code Enforcement

WALB found the Lowndes County government sticking to the letter of its own recently-passed
ordinance and contract, and Deep South Sanitation
concerned about the county trying to put it out of business.

Friends, we all watch the news and we see governments making changes
that are unacceptable to the American people. Well, it is happening
right here in our hometown. LOWNDES COUNTY has issued a CIVIL ACTION
LAWSUIT against DEEP SOUTH. The preliminary hearing is set for
FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 at 9:30AM in Courtroom 5D of the Lowndes
County Judicial Complex. The purpose of the hearing is to force DEEP
SOUTH to shutdown on that day! (We are a small, local, family owned
and operated business.) We need your support because this hearing
will effect almost every one of you. “IF” we are forced out,
Advanced Disposal will be your “ONLY CHOICE” for garbage service.
That means there will be a MONOPOLY for garbage service in Lowndes.
The County maintains that it is not MANDATORY for the citizens to
use Advanced Disposal so then who else can we choose? CHOICE keeps
business healthy and HONEST. Please help support this matter for
your sake and ours by calling LOWNDES COUNTY and voice your
concerns. Also, there are several petitions being sent around as of
today. We personally thank each and every one of you!! From: Cary,
Debbie, Trevor, Dylan and Sadee Scarborough

George Rhynes asks if Wal-Mart can fire employees who disarmed
an armed robber for not following procedures,
why can’t the manager he says didn’t follow procedures when
the manager fired him be fired in return?
I wonder why Wal-Mart procedures and profit are more important
than employee safety, well-being, or the drain on public resources
to cover what Wal-Mart does not?

The Valdosta Mayor and City Council are committed to providing quality
municipal services that meet the expectations of our citizens. In addition
to providing fire and police protection and other beneficial quality of
life services, the city leadership is equally committed to providing
adequate water and wastewater treatment services to its citizens,
maintaining a functioning sewer collection system and discharging treated
water in an environmentally responsible manner.

Recently, citizens have been inundated with information about
the current state of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and sewer
collection system, as well as the decisions made during the recent flood
event. The following information is provided to explain the recent event
and to help citizens better understand these important issues and the
dedicated work of their elected officials and municipal staff.

All, just so everyone is on the same page- the sewer line is currently
spilling sewage. It just started at mu house but has been going strong
at sugar creek for awhile by the looks of it. Here are some current
pictures as of 3:30 today. It will get worse until the river crests..

Wanting to go to the Industrial Authority meeting tonight?
Oops, you missed it: they held it 11 days ago.
Did you want to speak there?
Nope, no Citizens to be Heard on that agenda, and not much else, either.

To find that agenda on VLCIA’s website:
Home → About Us → Industrial Authority →
Meeting Schedule,

There will be a Special Called Meeting of the Valdosta-Lowndes
County Industrial Authority on
Friday, March 8, 2013, 11:00 am at
the Valdosta-Lowndes County Industrial Authority Offices. This
Special Called Meeting will also serve as the Regular March 2013
Meeting.

I don’t know when they put that on their website, but they announced
the same thing on
their facebook page on March 4th.
Much of the usual agenda boilerplate
is replaced by an executive session, and the agenda doesn’t
even say for what.
I seem to recall the Industrial Authority’s attorney on several occasions
reminding the Chair that before going into executive session it was
necessary to say for what purpose.
As the
Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG)
puts it:

What is the procedure for going into and holding an “executive session” or “closing a meeting”?

All, I appreciate the update on where the city stands on moving the
sewer all together—I just wish we had been kept informed of
the plans over the last 4 years. Living with the *real* threat of
flooding is stressful enough, add in the guaranteed associated
sewage spill is more than I can handle.

I also appreciate the city workers spreading lime and working on the
sewer line behind my house today. But I have questions—What
about the sewage in my yard and under my house? Is this my
responsibility?

The VDT had a small front page headline yesterday:
“Floridians warned about river contamination”.
That story was also heard in Florida, in
Madison, Gainesville, and elsewhere,
emphasizing something that Valdosta didn’t mention:
people live downstream of Valdosta’s wastewater spill,
all the way down the Withlacoochee and the Suwannee Rivers
to the Gulf of Mexico.
The story also made the AJC.

TALLAHASSEE- The Florida Department of Health (DOH) today issued a
caution to residents in the counties surrounding the Withlacoochee
and Suwannee rivers. The Withlacoochee Water Pollution Control Plant
in Valdosta, GA has overflowed into the Withlacoochee River, which
flows south, connecting with the Suwannee River.